I am the very proud owner of a 100 lb. black German Shepherd named Maji. After buying him from a reputable breeder, we followed every instruction of how to guide him into becoming a well behaved member of the family. However, no matter what we did, Maji never learned how to properly walk on a leash. He pulled us every where, and living near downtown Laguna Beach, we had many "not so proud" moments. We bought all of the Monks of New Skete training material, but still could not get him under control.

Gentle leaders, pinch collars, and no-pull harnesses were charged through with ease. We were then referred to a local trainer who had been training for over thirty years. The pulling continued, and we were more frustrated than ever. Finally, Steve, an employee at the Laguna Beach dog market, raved about Sarah. We decided to give it one last shot. My husband and I were blown away on the first session. I could not believe that Maji was taking his first walk, pull free. In the weeks to follow, walks became more and more enjoyable, as he and I achieved better and better results. I would highly recommend Sarah, especially for those very tough pups like mine.

My husband and I have a three year old one hundred and thirty pound Cane Corso named Maximus. We’ve had “Max” since he was five weeks old. As Max got older we started to notice some very serious aggression issues that caused us great alarm. We received many different opinions and suggestions on our options, but none of them were acceptable. Max is part of our family. We love Max so much, we thought it only fair to find him the best help possible and we did…

We found Sarah.

We enrolled Max in a nine week program with Sarah and the results are amazing. Max is a completely different dog. With Sarah’s training, Max is now able to follow commands on and off leash. She has also dedicated so much time to socializing Max that he is no longer fearful of other dogs or public places.

Sarah is much more to us than just a dog trainer; she is now part of our lives. Sarah tries to spend at least one weekend a month with Max. She loves Max and they have become very good friends. We appreciate her more than she’ll ever know.

Sincerely,
Walter and Ronnese Glover

Thanks again Sarah for all of your hard work, with both "our boys" and with us. The change in Markus and Bugsy is so dramatic it's impossible to describe. You did a fabulous job and we're thrilled with the results.

Ed and Diana Hagerott

In less than an hour during our very first lesson, Sarah was able to get our two energetic pups to finally stop pulling on the leash and walk at heel

Learning the “place” command has saved us lots of trouble when visitors come to the door. Going to their “place” when told is now even a game for Mocha and Latte and they actually enjoy it.

Sarah was able to get our two "doodles" to learn fast, making our lives so much easier.

Melinda, Nick, Latte, and Mocha

My name is Teressa and I have a female Jack Russell Terrier named Lucy. She is three years old now and a wonderfully behaved dog thanks to Sarah, the awesome dog trainer. In November of 2002 I got my dog Lucy as a 3 month old puppy. Although she was adorable she also had some aggression issues that I felt needed to be dealt with.

I signed up with Sarah for a eight week training course once a week. She came to my house and really helped me understand my dog and how to discipline her with love and respect. Lucy was taught to come on command, take a walk with me while staying by my side and not walking me. Also, she was taught the “down position” and “Place”. These two commands are the greatest! We would take her out to the park and socialize her around other dogs and she was taught to be off leash in public. Lucy and I really enjoyed our training time with Sarah. Lucy loves her and is always excited to see her! This training was time very well spent and it was definitely worth the cost. I’ve never had a better dog! Thank you Sarah!

Sincerely, Teressa and Lucy

Dear Sarah, Hansi turned 17 months at the end January…He is the youngest trained therapy dog (14 mths)..fully certified with Therapy Dogs International, in New Jersey. Hansi is working very hard about 4 times a week bringing big smiles to the very sick, the depressed and people who have requested his companionship because they are shut-ins. All this could not have happened if you had not been such a terrific, experienced, patient and skilled professional dog trainer. I searched you out because all my other pets were trained by parks and recreation dog training programs and pet store training programs. However, Hanzi’s training sets him apart from all others because of the superior training and attention he got from you.

Your ability to evaluate whether a dog is capable of extra special behaviors is impressive. I have referred several of my patients to you with pets that have behavioral problems. They too, are very pleased with the results and have ended up with happier pets, less frustrated owners and we end up having a win-win situation…. Its because of your commitment to quality training that Hansi is such a fine therapy dog and also a pleasure to have around with patients..he is now having added visits on his already busy schedule. He is now a therapy dog in the gero-neuropsychiatric unit of the hospital where he is their official registered therapy dog….thanks to you, Sarah!

Stella Chan, L.Ac

My husband and I have a two-year old Boxer female named Roxi. My husband grew up with a Boxer and has always loved the breed. I personally had never had a dog, but had met his lovely Boxer, Phoebe, when we first starting dating. When we bought our first house, we decided it was time to get a dog. Roxi was born on April 2, 2004 and we bought her when she was about 10 weeks old.

Roxi was a hand-full from the beginning. She was - and still is - loving and full of energy, but was also very difficult to manage. She literally ran the household and felt she could whatever she wanted, whenever she wanted. She was stubborn and would not listen despite our best efforts to teach her commands ourselves. Also, her leash manners were miserable and would take ME for a walk, rather than the other way around.

It was time to call in the reinforcements. We asked our veterinarian about who to call and we were given Sarah's name. We began the training in November 2005 with the goal to have her under control by the time the Christmas tree went up! Now, she does obey her boundaries and respects the chain of authority in the house, although, being a Boxer, she'll take as much leeway as she is given, so reinforcing her training will be a life-long process. It was very important we were involved in the training too.

We thank Sarah for her tough-love and patience with Roxi. It's made Roxi into a wonderfully behaved dog and a very special member of our family. Our baby Hunter loves her too! He's now eight months and they are getting along famously....

Lisa Voskanian

Thank you Sarah, for the wonderful job you did in training "Annie". I was referred to Sarah by another trainer. Before Sarah worked with Annie she was a very active, willful 8 month old puppy. She jumped on people, would not mind at all, and decided she was The Boss, the more she was corrected the more defiant she became.

After just a few sessions with Sarah, my friends believe Annie was switched with another dog. She is very well behaved, and is a pleasure to take out in public. I am always getting compliments, by friends and strangers, on what a well trained dog she is.

While going through her commands in the park one day, a young man was watching us. As he left he remarked "She is awesome". Sarah definitely knows what she is doing, and cares about the dog she Is working with; and it's obvious the dogs love her. I would highly recommend Sarah as a trainer; she is friendly, persistent, and a pleasure to work with.

Sarah, it was truly a pleasure to work with you, and I consider the money well spent.

THANK YOU!
Marie Stoneman

Thanks so much for the great work you did with our two Jack Russell terriers and with us. We can now have them in our psychotherapy offices and rest assured they will be well behaved. Our clients are amazed at the changes in them. They're calmer and very obedient. The dogs help create a very calm, secure, and relaxed environment that is reassuring for our clients, particularly new clients. Not to mention how much nicer it is to have them around at home as well. We appreciate all the extra patience you had with them and with us.

Cathie and Nancy